In Mark 4:35-41 we get another peak at the human side of the disciples. They’re on the sea when a “furious squall” comes out of nowhere.

After finding Jesus sleeping, they’re wondering if he even cares about their challenging change in circumstances. (Something we never do, right?) They actually called him on it, asking if he even cared if they drowned.

Jesus flipped the mirror on the them for a great lesson on faith and fear. First, he reminded them that he is in control. He then answered the accusation implied in their question, with a question of his own.

Give this 1 minute devo a listen to hear what Jesus asked them and why they were left in awe at the one the winds and waves obey.

When we go through storms our greater challenge and enemy is not the circumstance but fear. It washes away faith. Mark 4:35-41. Believe him.

Like this:

Some of us get confused about how God works. He does not lead us through life in a zig zag pattern. He doesn’t lead us from place to place in a haphazard or schizophrenic way. It’s US who wander around aimlessly when we try to over think God’s prompts or when we continuously doubt what he would have us do.

(Think 40 years in the wilderness. That want his plan. The Israelites doubt, fear, disobedience, second guessing, whining, worrying, etc., is what caused a short journey to take so long.)

When God leads us toward something, somewhere or someone we need to lock in on it like a set of GPS coordinates. Plug in an address to your GPS and it’ll set a course and not veer from it. If you doubt it’s accuracy (think you know a better/quicker/more pleasurable way) or have to deal with a road block or detour, you can leave the set path and it will recalculate and get you back on track–still heading toward that original destination.

God’s Word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit work in a similar fashion in our lives. We can ignore them and get further off track. The GPS shows us precisely how much further away we are as we travel off the original path but in life we often don’t realize how far we’ve strayed.

If you believe God is leading you in a particular direction, to a specific place or person, and a few months or a year later you feel another leading its likely that one of them wasn’t from God. Generally, that first leading is exactly where he wants us to head. It’s our desire for something new and exciting an different that distracts us and ends up wasting valuable time while we accomplish nothing.

When we first surrender to God’s direction we’re excited and fired up. Over time, the hard work of the journey, delayed gratification and boredom cause us to think maybe God wants us to do THIS instead. A new objective always seems exciting at the outset. The danger of living like this is finding ourselves 10, 12 or 20 years later with nothing to show for our efforts except a trail of stale breadcrumbs in circles. Much like the children of Israel, our enemy wants us distracted, discouraged and dissatisfied– wandering through the wilderness having accomplished nothing for the Kingdom.

Listen carefully for where and how God’s leading you, then set your course and do not get sidetracked by shiny objects, fear or doubt.

The enemy rejoices when we chase rabbit trails–often veering off course just before we arrive at the place God wants us. Or we whine and moan about how hard it is like the Israelites murmured and complained. If we only knew how close we are to where we want to be, we wouldn’t give up! And let’s not forget, for every good thing God has for us, the enemy has a counterfeit. He’s bound and determined to convince us to give up God’s perfect plan for his cheap imitation. Let’s choose to listen AND believe, the Voice of Truth…

Don’t reach for the reset button based on circumstances or what you see! You could give up, turn around and miss out on the prize just before a massive breakthrough. The idea of a “fresh start” can be very seductive, but it’s a lie as old as time. How could the enemy harden the hearts of God’s chosen people enough to convince them to wanna go back to Egypt–as slaves–only steps away from the place of Destiny?!

He’s tricky, tricky… but don’t be fooled!

Once you’ve set your course, pray for God to bless that path, to keep you faithful, to finish the race. Constant questioning leaves us vulnerable to the enemy’s lies. Don’t let circumstances or ever changing feelings discourage or dissuade you from finishing

Read the story of Adoniram Judson, the first Protestant missionary who had only 18 converts in his first 12 years. How easy would it have been to be CONVINCED that this clearly wasn’t God’s plan. I’m sure the enemy was planting those thoughts in his mind, but check this out… When he died, he left the people he ministered to in Burma the Bible in their language, 100 churches he planted, and over 8,000 believers in Burma. To this day, many descendants of those he led to Christ are reaching others with the gospel. THANK GOD he stayed the course!

Much like our GPS system on a road trip, if we listen, trust and obey God’s Word and the Holy Spirit we will find ourselves arriving at our destination of destiny where we can live out his purpose for our life to the fullest and enjoy our promised land.